One of the things I hate most is people who assume something about me and don't bother (or simply don't want) to ask me if they're right. You cannot assume anything about anybody even though everybody does it to varying degrees all the time. I am, I suppose, as guilty of doing this as the next guy. I find myself making judgments about people before I have really taken the time to get to know them.
This is, undoubtedly, one of the greatest problems of my generation. Many times we seem to be talking too fast. In many cases, our mouths are moving faster than our brains. But I think there is a reason why this occurs. We are pressured to say things before we have really had the time to think it out clearly and logically.
In our society, everybody is striving to be an individual. What happens is that you believe something and if you change your mind you feel that you are being inconsistent with your prior views.
Author Michael L. Yergin pens a surreal look at the college scene during the late 1960s and early 1970s at Southern Illinois University. Full of insight and humor, Thoughts After the First offers a compelling look at this turbulent time in American history.
